SAP's Troy Discusses Exit Plans

SAP channel chief Donna Troy, who is making a slow-motion exit from the ERP giant, said the company's small- and midsize-business channel plans are well on track.

Troy, executive vice president of global SME indirect channels, told CRN she will remain with Waldorf, Germany-based SAP through April. Terrance Scerri, senior vice president of SME indirect channels, will assume Troy's duties and report to Hans-Peter Klaey, president of SAP's SME organization.

News of Troy's planned departure from SAP broke roughly two weeks ago. And since then, she hasn't said much about her plans beyond April. She won't address the issue of a noncompete agreement other than to say that those pacts tend to be standard deals. Such contracts typically prohibit high-ranking executives from joining a direct competitor for a year or so.

"I'll stay in technology and will continue to capitalize on my skills and experience. I can't even imagine going into something totally new," Troy said.

"We'll work through the transition until April, and then I'll take some time off and move back to the U.S.," she added.

Troy, who joined SAP from Network Associates in mid-2004, has been based out of Paris. Before joining Network Associates, she was CEO of Partnerware and spent several years at Tivoli and IBM.

SAP's midmarket channel push is faring well, according to Troy. The company trained 3,000 channel sales staff last year for its Business One and All-in-One software products, she said. SAP also recently opened bigger accounts to its partners.

For the fourth quarter, the Business One partner base has grown at about 23 percent year over year, and the customer base grew 33 percent in that same period. As for All-in-One, SAP added more than 211 partners to the roster, bringing the total to 939.

Business One, which SAP touts as easy to use, is typically targeted at companies with fewer than 100 employees. All-in-One is suited for companies with up to 1,000 employees and more complex business processes.

SAP's PartnerEdge channel program is being rolled out in Latin America and Japan this quarter and next quarter. PartnerEdge is already running in SAP's other regions.